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The right thing for Kouros is to resign from the bench
Our opinion: Since a Supreme Court inquiry two years ago, the judge is still mishandling cases
Post-Tribune (IN)
May 18, 2003
http://infoweb.newsbank.com.proxy.portagelibrary.info/resources/doc/nb/news/0FF67C8AF9FE6590?p=AWNB
The Indiana Supreme Court has been more than patient with Lake Superior Court Criminal Division Judge Joan Kouros.
The high court's administrative division last week released a petition requiring Kouros to show why a judge pro tem should not be appointed to her courtroom.
She shouldn't bother to respond. She should simply resign her judgeship.
Stepping down would be best for the defendants, those who practice in her court, the people of Lake County and the Criminal Division as a whole.
Given what she has been going through the last two years, resigning also will be the best thing for Kouros.
It has been more than two years since the Supreme Court told Kouros to clear out her backlog and more efficiently handle cases, including the return of all files to the clerk's office within 48 hours.
The Supreme Court checked on Kouros last October and said the backlog problem not only hadn't been resolved, but may have gotten worse.
The Supreme Court found that more than 200 cases were awaiting orders.
The Supreme Court was back last month and came to the same conclusion -- the judge has failed to comply with the January 2001 order to straighten out her court.
Perhaps it is because of the enormity of the caseload that Kouros is making mistakes -- the kinds of mistakes that judges shouldn't be making.
While we all make mistakes, the frequency of those made by Kouros, and the potentially dire consequences, cannot be overlooked.
Her mistakes can, and have, jeopardized the citizenry.
The Supreme Court documents indicate that Kouros has failed to record motions for defendants that come before her, delaying transfers to other facilities and providing services.
Some of Kouros' mistakes are opening herself and the county to civil lawsuits.
The high court cited cases where Lake County Jail inmates had to spend more time incarcerated on misdemeanor crimes than required because Kouros failed to issue sentencing orders.
That not only is unfair to the defendant, but also unfair to jail officials who have a burgeoning inmate population to handle.
Other cases cited by the Supreme Court include:
A defendant was arrested Oct. 6, 2002, on an outstanding warrant. The warrant had been recalled two months prior, but Kouros hadn't reduced the decision to writing.
A defendant was convicted of being a habitual offender last October and Kouros took the conviction under advisement pending a hearing. She failed to remand the defendant to custody pending sentencing. His lawyer got him out of jail and he committed another crime.
Kouros revoked a defendant's probation June 5, 2002, and ordered a bench warrant for his arrest. The order had not been transmitted to the clerk's office as of Oct. 24 and thus the warrant couldn't be issued.
The judge issued a bench warrant for a person who failed to appear on June 21, 2002. As of October, the order had not been received by the clerk's office and the warrant had not been issued.
Perhaps the most egregious mistake by Kouros involves the case of Gary Burnett.
Burnett was indicted by a county grand jury on June 15, 2000, for allegedly killing a neighbor in Gary. Two months later, Kouros let Burnett out of jail on a $50,000 bond. Burnett went to California where he was arrested on a narcotics charge and served a short sentence.
Burnett now is charged with the Dec. 3, 2001, murder of a woman in South Bend. Burnett was arrested a week ago by Gary police.
It is a pattern of mistakes that society shouldn't have to stand for from the judicial system.
If Kouros won't resign, the Supreme Court owes it to the people of Lake County to remove her from the bench.
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